Users often need to transfer data between devices that are in close proximity of one another. With the increasing prevalence and portability of electronic computing devices, it is commonly the case that these devices, while in close proximity, are not preconfigured to communicate with and transfer data between one another. The traditional approach to connecting devices in this situation usually requires both devices to connect to a central network or to establish a point-to-point connection of some kind, whether using a wired or wireless means. After the connection between the devices is established, a handshake or initiation or some kind is usually required to allow the devices to communicate. Furthermore, once the devices are able to communicate, additional authentication and validation is required if users want to securely transfer data between the devices.
In such scenarios, the devices must necessarily have compatible software or hardware to facilitate each step of the traditional approach, thereby perpetuating the need for pre-configuration of the devices using various means, such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) or Network Access Control (NAC) rules, which expose a network or device to additional security vulnerabilities. As such, the aforementioned traditional approach is not as scalable, efficient, or convenient as an approach that does not necessitate said pre-configuration and not as secure as an approach that does not require the user to give a user or device access to their internal network.